Network Working Group J. Klensin
Request for Comments: 3071 February 2001
Category: Informational
Reflections on the DNS, RFC 1591, and Categories of Domains
Status of this Memo
This memo provides information for the Internet community. It does
not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of this
memo is unlimited.
Copyright Notice
Copyright (C) The Internet Society (2001). All Rights Reserved.
Abstract
RFC 1591, "Domain Name System Structure and Delegation", laid out the
basic administrative design and principles for the allocation and
administration of domains, from the top level down. It was written
before the introduction of the world wide web (WWW) and rapid growth
of the Internet put significant market, social, and political
pressure on domain name allocations. In recent years, 1591 has been
cited by all sides in various debates, and attempts have been made by
various bodies to update it or adjust its provisions, sometimes under
pressures that have arguably produced policies that are less well
thought out than the original. Some of those efforts have begun from
misconceptions about the provisions of 1591 or the motivation for
those provisions. The current directions of the Internet Corporation
for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) and other groups who now
determine the Domain Name System (DNS) policy directions appear to be
drifting away from the policies and philosophy of 1591. This
document is being published primarily for historical context and
comparative purposes, essentially to document some thoughts about how
1591 might have been interpreted and adjusted by the Internet
Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) and ICANN to better reflect today's
world while retaining characteristics and policies that have proven
to be effective in supporting Internet growth and stability. An
earlier variation of this memo was submitted to ICANN as a comment on
its evolving Top-level Domain (TLD) policies.
Klensin Informational [Page 1]RFC 3071 Reflections on the DNS and RFC 1591 February 20011. Introduction
RFC 1591 [1] has been heavily discussed and referenced in the last
year or two, especially in discussions within ICANN and its
predecessors about the creation, delegation, and management of top-
level domains. In particular, the ICANN Domain Name Supporting
Organization (DNSO), and especially its ccTLD constituency, have been
the home of many discussions in which 1591 and interpretations of it
have been cited in support of a variety of sometimes-contradictory
positions. During that period, other discussions have gone on to try
to reconstruct the thinking that went into RFC 1591. Those in turn
have led me and others to muse on how that original thinking might
relate to some of the issues being raised. 1591 is, I believe, one
of Jon Postel's masterpieces, drawing together very different
philosophies (e.g., his traditional view that people are basically
reasonable and will do the right thing if told what it is with some
stronger mechanisms when that model is not successful) into a single
whole.
RFC 1591 was written in the context of the assumption that what it
described as generic TLDs would be bound to policies and categories
of registration (see the "This domain is intended..." text in
section 2) while ccTLDs were expected to be used primarily to support
users and uses within and for a country and its residents. The
notion that different domains would be run in different ways --albeit
within the broad contexts of "public service on behalf of the
Internet community" and "trustee... for the global Internet
community"-- was considered a design feature and a safeguard against
a variety of potential abuses. Obviously the world has changed in
many ways in the seven or eight years since 1591 was written. In
particular, the Internet has become more heavily used and, because
the design of the world wide web has put domain names in front of
users, top-level domain names and registrations in them have been
heavily in demand: not only has the number of hosts increased
dramatically during that time, but the ratio between registered
domain names and physical hosts has increased very significantly.
The issues 1591 attempted to address when it was written and those we
face today have not changed significantly in principle. But one
alternative to present trends would be to take a step back to refine
it into a model that can function effectively today. Therefore, it
may be useful to try to reconstruct 1591's principles and think about
their applicability today as a model that could continue to be
applied: not because it is historically significant, but because many